Thursday, March 30, 2017

If you've been to any of my previous book launch parties, then you know I like to feature the work of some special guest authors alongside mine. And the upcoming party for Volume Three will be no exception! So without further ado, I'd like to introduce them to you now:

Jonathan Chase is an author, speaker, consultant, musician, and magician (hey, like a real-life Wavemaker!) His new book, From Surviving to Thriving, is a guide for teachers to help them make accommodations for students on the autism spectrum. He also runs a super awesome foam sword group! Check out his website here.

Wait, you say, when was this party happening again? I'm glad you asked! It'll be on Saturday, April 15th, from 8pm-1am at Shanahan's Pub and Grill in lovely downtown Vancouver, WA. It's a 21 and over event with no cover charge, and in addition to these special guest authors, we'll also have some rockin' bands in attendance, who I'll be featuring in the next blog post!

P.S. Tune in to 36 Hours For Autism (Neue Regel Radio's 4th Annual Radiothon) this weekend! I'll be on with DJ Kyelzbub at 4pm on Friday, but you can listen in any time at this link. You might even hear some band called Second Player Score...

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Confession: I've always been a big Billy Joel fan. In fact, that's sort of how Joel Suzuki got his name. One of Joel's (Billy Joel's, that is, not Joel Suzuki's) songs, "I Go to Extremes," off of his Storm Front album, isn't one of my favorites - as the cliche goes, I like his older stuff more - but it does capture the theme of today's Movie Roundup quite nicely. Because for whatever reason, the last batch of films I've watched have veered from colorful kid-friendly fare to dark, grim adult stuff and then back again. It's enough to give a viewer some kind of metaphorical whiplash. Hence, the "I Go to Extremes" idea.

Anyway, in case this is your first Movie Roundup, here are ye olde standard disclaimers: (1) these are not really reviews, these are just my random thoughts about various movies I've seen, and (2) there may be massive spoilers, even to the point where I give away twists and endings and stuff. So with that out of the way, here we go!

Lego Batman

I enjoyed this one, although not quite as much as the Lego movie from which Lego Batman was spawned. It did make me really hungry for lobster thermidor, though, whatever that is. And the whole meta-ness of including Voldemort as a character while casting Ralph Fiennes as Alfred was pretty amusing. Favorite joke: "British robots - ask your nerd friends." Kid-friendliness rating: 92%.

Logan

The second-best movie in the X-Men franchise (there's just no beating Days of Future Past in my book), this one was almost as if Wolverine and Professor X stumbled into a horror/western flick and had to claw their way out of it (see what I did there? Okay, I can hear you groaning from here). Dark and violent from start to finish, this is definitely not one to take your young kids to. It paints a future so bleak it makes you wonder if Logan and Charles would've actually preferred the other future with all the sentinels and stuff, because at least in that one they got to wear cool futuristic suits and go out in (almost literal) blazes of glory. If all of what I just said makes it seem like I'm down on this movie, I'm not - it was awesome, I saw it twice, and I'll certainly watch it again when it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray. Daphne Keen was amazing - kind of reminded me of Millie Bobbie Brown. Where do they keep finding these intense young actresses? Kid-friendliness rating: 5% (only because of the fact that the movie cast a bunch of cool young people to play X-23, Rictor, and other kid mutants)

Pete's Dragon

Yes, I'm late on this one. I actually watched it on a bus while I was serving as a chaperone for one of my daughter's school band trips. It was light and airy and low-key and served as a fun little distraction while we rode up to Bellevue. I did wonder at one point how no one could have seen the dragon before, given that there's not much going on in the nearby town and the dragon certainly wasn't ashamed of flying around whenever it felt like it. By the way, after watching three Star Trek reboot films, I cannot see Karl Urban as anything else but Dr. McCoy. Kid-friendliness rating: 95%

John Wick 2

My son actually turned me on to this franchise, having seen the first John Wick movie before I did (he's 18, so its cool). Both installments are like ultra-violent video games - they're so over-the-top that you can't really take them too seriously. At least no dogs died in the second one. And the Neo/Morpheus reunion was fun. Kid-friendliness rating: 0%

Moana

This one exceeded my expectations, kind of like Zootopia did. Disney, you're on a roll! Heartfelt and beautifully animated, it hit all the right notes at mostly the right times (I did feel that it took longer than necessary to finally get Moana past the reef, but whatever). Moana and Maui's friendship felt natural and completely earned, which is a harder thing to pull off than you might expect. I should have guessed who Te Ka really was, but then again, like Zootopia, these Disney movies have a way of distracting me with their bright colors and bits of snappy dialogue (the "you're welcome" reprise near the end was especially awesome). Kid-friendliness rating: 99%

And thus endeth another installment of Movie Roundup! Join us again next time when, I suspect, the kid-friendliness ratings will be a bit more consistent, based on what I expect to be seeing (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, Wonder Woman, the Power Rangers reboot, Despicable Me 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets).

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Here's the cover art for Volume Three! Again, much thanks go out to the marvelous and talented Jill Colbert. Check out her other work here.

And here's the back cover blurb:

"Joel
Suzuki and friends have saved Spectraland—the island of music and magic—once
again. But now those responsible for the island’s near destruction have gone
missing, and all clues point to a mysterious land across the Forbidden Tides
known as the Six States beneath the Shroud.

At
least, it used to be—since a new leader rose to power, it has been called the
Mono Realm, a place where diversity isn’t tolerated. For people on the autism
spectrum like Joel and his bandmate Felicity Smith, it’s a hostile environment
indeed.

And
now, to make matters worse, Joel discovers that the fugitives they’re pursuing
are not simply hiding in the Mono Realm, they’re intent on taking it over—with
potentially dire consequences not only for this world, but for Earth as well.

A
rebellion is stirring in this land of magic and tech, and if Joel can just get
his mind off Felicity—and her prickly love interest, Thornleaf—his unique gifts
and abilities might just save the day."

I'm super excited about this latest addition to Joel's saga and I can't wait to share it with all of you! Come and help celebrate its release at one or both of the planned launch parties:
Saturday, April 15
8pm - 1am
Shanahan's Pub & Grill
209 W McLoughlin Blvd
Vancouver, WA
Featuring live music by Stab In The Dark, Cellar Door, and Second Player Score
Also special guest authors Jonathan Chase (From Surviving to Thriving) and Shawna Reppert (Hunt by Moonlight, the Ravensblood series)
No cover, 21 and over

Thursday, March 2, 2017

- The first draft of Volume Four is coming along nicely. I did have to backtrack a bit and rewrite a bunch of stuff, but it was going to happen eventually, so it was cool to get it done now. Officially, I'm at around 16,000 words (64 pages or so), but I do have chunks of other scenes that may still work their way back into the draft.

- As always, I had fun at the Portland Spring Home & Garden Show last week. Much thanks to Roslyn McFarland for putting that together. Tomorrow, I'll be doing a Skype in the Classroom lesson with a school in Hollidaysburg, PA, followed by a local appearance at Burnt Bridge Creek Elementary right here in good old Vancouver (thanks to Susie Slanina for setting that up!)

Band Update:

- The lyrics for our third album Glorified are done, and now we're on to working out the vocal harmonies.

- Additional distribution and promotion of our first two albums by the UK-based indie label Fusion Records has begun!

- Season 2 of The Magicians has been epic so far. Favorite bits: "Where are my stuff touchers?" and "FU Fighters."

- Watched the first episode of Legion...I think it was exactly what they wanted it to be, which was pretty cool, but not really my sort of thing. I dunno, maybe I'll give it another shot.

- Season finale of Star vs. The Forces of Evil: about as compelling as a kid's cartoon - or really any show, for that matter - can get, on par with the best episodes of Gravity Falls. I couldn't look away.

Video Game Update:

- Been trying furiously to finish Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE before Breath of the Wild comes out TOMORROW but man, those Cosmic Egg puzzles are actually pretty confusing. I might have to shelve it and come back to it later.

- Did I mention that Breath of the Wild is coming out TOMORROW? My daughter and I are just a little bit excited. Because it's coming out TOMORROW.

About Me

I'm an author, musician, philanthropist, and dad to two awesome kids. My JOEL SUZUKI series of novels is available online and from various fine bookstores. My band's albums FORTRESS STORM ATTACK!! and NOBODY'S HERO are available via our website at secondplayerscore.com.